Identifying patients at risk for life threatening arrhythmias

Abstract

The invention is a method for identifying proteins associated with sudden cardiac death (SCD) and for assessing a patient's risk of SCD by determining the amount of one or more SCD-associated proteins in the patient. Typically, the patient submits a sample, such as a blood sample, which is tested for one or more SCD-associated proteins. Based upon the results of the tests, the patient's risk of SCD may be assessed.

1 - 16 . (canceled) 
   
   
       17 . A method for assessing a risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia in a patient using a plurality of biochemical markers, comprising:
 assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia as a function of a measurement M A  of a first biochemical marker A in the patient; and   assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia as a function of a measurement M B  of a second biochemical marker B in the patient;   wherein M A  is compared to a threshold value T A  of A, and wherein M B  is compared to a threshold value T B  of B.   
   
   
       18 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the biochemical markers comprises one of a protein, a lipid, and a gene. 
   
   
       19 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia comprises one of generating a sorting tree, generating a logical test, generating an artificial neural network, and assessing the risk of at least one of ventricular tachycardia, ventricular fibrillation, and sudden cardiac death. 
   
   
       20 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising: assessing the benefit of administering a drug to the patient. 
   
   
       21 . The method according to  claim 20 , wherein the drug is an anti-arrhythmic drug. 
   
   
       22 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising: assessing the benefit of implanting a medical device in the patient. 
   
   
       23 . The method according to  claim 22 , wherein the medical device comprises at least one of an electronic cardiac stimulation device and a drug delivery device. 
   
   
       24 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the measurement of a biochemical marker comprises one of a mass measurement of the biochemical marker, a mass-to-charge ratio measurement of the biochemical marker with a mass spectrometer, and an isoelectric pH measurement of the biochemical marker. 
   
   
       25 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia in the patient as a function of a measurement of a physiological factor in the patient.   
   
   
       26 . The method according to  claim 25 , wherein the physiological factor comprises at least one of an electrophysiological factor and a hemodynamic factor. 
   
   
       27 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia in the patient as a function of a reaction between a biological sample from a patient and a plurality of sensing elements of a biochip that is exposed to the biological sample.   
   
   
       28 . The method according to  claim 27 , wherein assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia in the patient as a function of a reaction between the sample and the sensing elements comprises performing mass spectrometry on the biochip. 
   
   
       29 . The method according to  claim 28 , wherein performing the mass spectroscopy comprises performing a Surface Enhanced Laser Desorption/Ionization process. 
   
   
       30 . The method according to  claim 17 , wherein the measurement of a biochemical marker comprises the change in concentration of the biochemical marker over time. 
   
   
       31 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising applying a therapy to the patient as a function of the assessment of risk. 
   
   
       32 . The method according to  claim 31 , wherein applying a therapy to the patient comprises one of implanting an electronic cardiac stimulation device in the patient, administering an anti-arrhythmic drug to the patient, and determining at least one of a protein and a gene to be delivered to the patient. 
   
   
       33 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia as a function of M A , M B , and a measurement M C  of a biochemical marker C in the patient;   wherein M C  is compared to a threshold value T C  of C.   
   
   
       34 . The method according to  claim 17 , further comprising:
 assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia as a function of M A , M B , and a measurement M D  of a biochemical marker D in the patient;   wherein M D  is compared to a threshold value T D  of D.   
   
   
       35 . The method according to  claim 33 , further comprising:
 assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia as a function of M A , M B , M C , and a measurement M D  of a biochemical marker D in the patient;   wherein M D  is compared to a threshold value T D  of D.   
   
   
       36 . The method according to  claim 34 , further comprising:
 assessing the risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmia as a function of M A , M B , M D , and a measurement M C  of a biochemical marker C in the patient;   wherein M C  is compared to a threshold value T C  of C.